European Aquatics (formerly known as LEN) is citing “the current political situation in Europe” as the reason why the organization still has not announced the time or place of the 2024 European Championships.
The vague wording is likely a reference to the escalating violence between Israel and Palestine that has resulted in thousands of civilian deaths over the past few weeks. There’s a chance that European Aquatics could be referencing Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, but it seems unlikely that the organization would be caught off guard by a conflict that began last February.
“The current political situation in Europe has caused an unforeseen delay in the announcement of the time and place of the 2024 European Aquatics Championships,” European Aquatics said in a statement. “Discussions are at an advanced stage and European Aquatics is working actively to finalise the agreement. We aim to first announce the Competition dates, to facilitate the planning process, and soon afterwards we will reveal the Competition host.”
The 2024 European Water Polo Championships were expected to take place from Jan. 3-16 in Netanya, Israel, a coastal city located 19 miles north of Tel Aviv. However, that event is now in question after Israel declared war on Gaza in response to a surprise attack by the Palestinian armed group Hamas on Oct. 7. Since then, thousands of Palestinian children and dozens of journalists have died in Gaza amid retaliatory strikes.
Netanya has hosted many aquatics events in recent years, including the World Junior Swimming Championships in September.
European Aquatics added that further updates on the 2024 Euros are coming “very soon.” Next year’s international swimming calendar is already looking busy with the 2024 World Championships in February and the Paris 2024 Olympics in July.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that World Aquatics was facing pressure to move the 2024 Worlds out of Qatar due to the country’s ties to Hamas, but a spokesperson for the global governing body told SwimSwam that it hasn’t yet heard complaints from international officials about the issue.
World Aquatics has already moved the final stop of the Open Water World Cup from Eilat, Israel, to Funchal, Portugal, amid the ongoing fighting.
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No need for Euro’s already have an extra Worlds
most europeans won’t participate in those worlds, so that is pretty much a BS comment
It’s going to be in Budapest isn’t it
I mean.
Yeah. Probably.
Someone needs to put an end to these wars. Prayers for those impacted.